Professional Preparation and Development

Issued by the Scrum Alliance, the Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM) credential reflects competency in Agile frameworks and the servant leadership principles that define an effective Scrum Master. I pursued this certification after discovering, through hands-on experience leading a cross-functional ISD team on a large-scale U.S. Navy training contract, that the Scrum Master role aligned naturally with how I work best. Facilitating sprint ceremonies, onboarding new team members, resolving blockers, and making sure every person on the team had what they needed to feel empowered to do their best work wasn't just a job function, it was where I thrived. Teammates felt invested in our shared goals, and that sense of ownership translated directly into stronger, more consistent deliverables. The CSM certification formalized that experience and deepened my understanding of Agile as a framework. For L&D teams working in iterative development environments, that servant leadership mindset maps directly onto how effective instructional design already works: stay curious, remove obstacles, and keep the focus on outcomes.

The Applied Instructional Design Academy (AIDA) is a rigorous, portfolio-driven certification program grounded in adult learning theory and real-world ID practice. Completing AIDA marked my formal transition into instructional design and laid the foundation for the design philosophy I bring to every project: start with the performance gap, align learning objectives to measurable outcomes, and iterate until the solution actually works. Each badge represents mastery of a specific skill or tool, validated through keystone projects reviewed by working instructional designers against industry-standard rubrics. Click any badge to view the full credential and competency requirements on Credly.